Stars Align

Outmatched by the girls’ team and unable to produce results, the boys’ soft tennis club is on the verge of being shut down. Captain Touma Shinjou scrambles to find new talent, but recruiting goes nowhere—until he notices transfer student Maki Katsuragi’s sharp reflexes when Maki snatches a stray cat in the classroom. Touma immediately tries to bring him into the club, only to be turned down by someone determined to stay uninvolved.

Touma persists, and Maki finally agrees on strictly transactional terms: payment for playing and help covering club costs. Once on the court, Maki’s natural ability and rapid improvement quickly set him apart, stirring tension within the team even as his presence forces the others to confront their own complacency and start taking the sport seriously.

As the club fights to stay alive, its members begin to recognize what they’re capable of—while also facing personal struggles and the harsher realities of middle school life.